rolig - as a curious American myself ;-) I always spell them "judgement" and "acknowledgement."

As for the frozen treat, my parents and grandparents pronounce it: "fudge-ickle." I did as well until I left home and got "schooled." Now I 'say' "fudge-sickle" -- but I don't know how I spell it 'cause I never do...

Sorry guys if I am interrupting your toponymic digression to comment on the word at hand, but shouldn't "fudgsicle" be spelled "fudgesicle"? Is the silent "e" being dropped by analogy with the curious American spellings of words like judgment and acknowledgment (can't think of any more at the moment)? I find these spellings curious because it's that silent "e" that makes the -dg- soft (i.e. pronounced like a "j").

By the way, if we take the etymology of icicle ("ice" + "ickle") as the model, then the word should indeed be fudgicle (sorry, reesetee!).

Pro, someone from Michigan would tell you that U.P. means the Upper Peninsula--that part of the state that's separated from the rest of it by Lake Michigan. I'd suggest it feels more like Canada than the US, eh?

"Outside" means anywhere that is not Alaska, not just the lower 48. Asativum is correct in that "down south" usually refers to going to Seattle, since you typically have to go there to get anywhere else.